Olly Alexander will represent the United Kingdom at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, the pop singer has revealed.
The star’s participation was announced during the live final of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday evening (16 December).
Speaking to host Claudia Winkleman, the singer said: “I love Eurovision so much, it’s a dream come true.”
He added: “I’m just so, so excited.”
The song he will perform in Malmo next May has yet to be announced, but the BBC confirmed it was co-written by Alexander and Danny L Harle, who have produced hits for Dua Lipa, Chic and Charli XCX.
Alexander fronted the band Years and Years from 2010 to 2021, when the group split. Alexander then continued as a solo act.
The singer also has a considerable acting background, starring in Channel 4’s acclaimed It’s a Sin as Ritchie Tozer, a gay teenager who moves to London in the midst of the Aids crisis.
One of his first roles was as vindictive drug-user Victor in French provocateur Gaspar Noé’s hallucinogenic art film Enter the Void, in 2009.
He also featured in a minor role alongside Jack Black in 2010’s Gulliver’s Travels, before being cast as Herbert Pocket, Pip’s kindly friend, in the 2012 film version of Great Expectations.
In 2013 he appeared in the final season of hit teen drama Skins for a two-episode arc, playing Cassie Ainsworth’s stalker.
The Riot Club (2014), an adaptation of Laura Wade’s 2010 play Posh, saw Alexander appear as an older student who mixes with members of an elite Bullingdon-style club at Oxford University.
Alexander also appeared as one of three leads in God Help the Girl, a 2014 indie musical directed by Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch.